what is the most functional strut tower brace?
does ne1 know if there is a carbonfiber one yet?

 

probably this one. I am sure its the strongest!

 

Check the ScionLife store .... look under Suspension > Stressbars


JIC Magic makes a CF one.


but if you want a really nice one made out of Stainless Steel see http://www.randode.com

 

Randode's is also completely solid, unlike most others, which are hinged.

 

The TRD one works

 

the carbon steel one from DC Sports is a nice piece and the price is also good at only $90 at most places

 

I agree, I have that one and I paid $83 shipped to my door for it.

 

I hate to go against conventional tuner wisdom or ruin anyone's fun, but I'm not sure how it became common knowledge that a strut brace improves handling. I'll wager it has a lot to do with marginally true (At best) claims made by manufacturers.

I understand that you are certain you felt an improvement in handling when you put that brace on, however, I have to question how accurate an instrument the Seat-of-your-pants really is - not to mention placebo effect. Lets think about the forces at work here. With a MacPherson strut style suspension the shock absorber becomes a structural component that locates/stabilizes the wheel. The strut locates the wheel in a few direction but there is only one direction a strut tower brace can help support - Camber. If the strut were removed the wheel could fall forward out of the car (Like the Flying Delorean in Back to the Future II) or in, towards the engine - This is the only force that a strut brace can help the structure of the car deal with. So its fair to say that unless those towers (Which are an integral part of the Uni-body) were moving significantly you certainly wouldn't notice any handling changes. Real race cars that are based production car chassis (Like AutoCross and Rally); that are pulling 1G+ around the track and dealing with (Often) very high output engines and the bumps on the road all at the same time -- These cars have braces on them not to improve handling but to keep the cars from tearing themselves apart. Flex is a problem for these cars so much that things don't bolt together correctly anymore, or they crack glass. Lets say that the strut is only 12inches long - from middle of the wheel to the top of the strut tower (I'm sure its longer but My xB is still on order :? ) to effect a 2 degree change in camber at the wheel, that tower will have to flex very nearly a half inch! (.41 of an inch) Only one degree would mean a 1/4 of an inch of flex, which would probably be enough to close the gap between your fender and your hood (the fender is essentially bolted directly to the Strut tower.) My point is obviously (I hope) not that you need to go out and buy a brace right away to avoid body damage. I'm telling you that modern vehicles are very ridged designs -- They flex, of course, but you'd have a hard time measuring it. Considering you'll need to see at least a 1/4" for only one degree of camber at the wheel the actual amount of body flex under even extreme conditions translates into virtually no camber change and thus - unaffected handling.

Something else to consider: If you were to take a close look into the engine compartment of an xB you'll notice that the firewall is just inches from the strut towers. The firewall is, of course, a fairly significant structural component of a Uni-body car. What this means is that an xB needs a strut tower brace like a fish needs a bicycle.

The end game? Buy your strut brace because you like the way it looks - That's what its there for.

 

I think 99% of us realize the brace doesn't improve handling, that is not it's job. What it does is tie everything together to prevent stress fractures in the unibody and cut down on vibrations felt through the steering, it's a bonus that it dresses up the underhood area :D

 

Then don't. jk

" :?: " If the strut tower brace is used in the engine compartment, then what's the brace that I see used mounted over the rear seats? It looks like it could be mounted where the rear hand rests would be. [/ :?: ]

 

Still a strut tower brace (Although rear strut towers don't always have the "tower" look so much) but for the rear - many cars today (Including the Scions) have MacPherson struts at all four corners and rear braces are available for a lot of them.

 

I don't know. The way that it was mounted it looked more like a chin up bar than anything else.

 

The xA/xB dont have rear struts.

 

I wish it were true but the subject comes up so often I think that percentage is probably much much lower. Rome wasn't built in a day and if you need to justify their presence under hood with more than looks then I won't comment on the vibrations theory. But I can tell you with near certainty that you could drive these cars like your ___ was on fire until the wheels fell off and you still wouldn't find any stress cracks.

 

Nuts - your right. I've got to go remove my foot from my mouth.

 

Although xB is not MacPherson strut in the rear (Oops) I'll guess it might be a brace for the shock towers.